Rail-bond.



C. R. STURDEVANT.

RAIL BOND.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.13, 1906 9 1 2,9 1 6 Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR C. R. STURDBVANT.

RAIL BUND.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 13, 1906.

Pllelltedl F81). 16, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET a.

INVENTOR WITNESSES C. R. STURDEVANT.

RAIL BOND.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.13, 1906.

WITIIBSIS Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

INVENTOR wif/1Q CHARLES n. STURDEVANT, 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

nAILBoND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

Application led January 13, 1906. Serial No. 295,886.

-To all 'whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHAELEs R. STURDE- VANT, a resident of Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rail-Bonds for Electric Railways and the Like, of which the following is a specification. y

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in rail bonds for electric railways and the like, and has for its object to provide a bond for connecting the adjacent ends of the rails, which shall afford a ar e contact area with each rail; which shall be ocated in the most advantageous position with respect to its installation; which will maintain a high efficiency, due to the short vlength of the bond and the large contact area between its terminals and the rail; which will avoid the dangell' of the terminals workin loose from the' rail and admitting air an moisture which will corrode the joint; and .which will permit a bond of very lar e capacity to be installed quickly and at a ow cost, due to its form and particular location.

Other ob'ects of the invention will appear more fully ereinaftcr.

In the accompanying^drawingsFigure 1 is a cross-section of a rail and joint-plates showing the bond in its initial position. Fig. Zis a correspondin fragmentary view, showing the mode of ca king or turning the metal at the edge of the hole into the body of the terminal studs. Fi 3 is a fragmentary view correspondinl to iig. 1, but showin the completed bon. Fig. 4 is aside view o a rail joint and bond, the terminal member at the left-hand end showing the incompleted condition corresponding lto that shown 1n 1, and the terminal at the right-hand end m completed form. Fig; 5 is a 'view similar to Figui, but showing fa modification. F' s. 6 and 8 are side views showing afinodiii form of terminals, and Figs. 7 9 are* sections on lines VII-#VIIl andIXIX-vof F` s. 6 and 8, Ie'spe'ctivel F'" S-in'd 9 slitbrw the bond in its iiircom lested form. Fig. 10 is a. cross-sectionaljiewshowing the terminals of 6, 7, 8 and 9, used in crossbonding. Fig. -11 'is a sectional side eleva'- t-ion showing the bond applied toa feeder rail; and Fig. 12 is a sectionon 'the line XII-XII of 11'.A f

Referring tot e drawings, as .indicaites'the section, as there are studs on the coperating terminals .of the bond.

Each bond consists of two socketed.

metal terminals, c, of copper, one at each end, having laterally extending branches or arms c', as illustrated in the drawings.. Projectin from the inside faces of the arms c of the ody or head c 'of each terminal, are a plurality of studs c, referably one stud on each arm, which stu s are adapted to en age the corresponding cup-shaped holes in the sides. of the rail lheads a. On the outer face of each o'f the arms -c of the terminal head c, there is provided an int'egral boss or rojection d, which are preferably tapered) outwardly to afford sufficient metal, togethenwith studs e, when the terminal 'is subjected to heavy blows from a hammer or pressure from a suitable tool, to completely i111 the holes b in the rail head. These holes may be enlarged, -or their walls roughened at the inner ends, as indicated at b 1n ligs. 1 and 2, in order to form further retaining means for the studs. The length of the studs e is fpreferably slightly greater than the depth o the holes b, so that when the ductile metal of the studs and the arms c of the terminal head c is y compressed, under the riveting action of the hammer o'r any upsetti tool, it will flow into every portion of the y ole, and establish aI most' efficient electrical' contact between the metal of the terminal and the rail a.

In applying the bond to the rail sections, the hoes a pro erly s aced by means of atempletorg'an'g rill an are drilled to the gper depth into the body of the rail head. e' studs on the respective terminal heads fc are then inserted in their appro riate holes,4 and va few blows of ahammer elivercd to 'thejb'oss dser've to force the stud einto the hole, and to upset the boss or projection d on the outer face 'of the arm c of the head c s'ulieiently to cause the metal to expand over the sides of the rail about the holes to fa slight de ree, 'a's indicated in Fig. 2. By means o a diamond pointed chisel C, 'or other tool, portions of the metal in the rail head about the holes b are turned into the body of the studs e, as indicated at d in "rig. 2, after which the metal in the projection d is still further upset or compressed until the studs of the terminal assume the ultimate form shown in 'i ig. 3, whereby the metal in the studs e is forced with great pressure against the sides and bottom of thenoles b, and the inner faces of the arms c of the terminal head c are caused to closely hug the surface of the rail head about said holes b. By providing two or three indentations d', by means of the calhing chisel or punch, the studs e Will be securely locked Witnin the holes b, and no amount of shock or jar, incident to traffic over the rail, will serve to loosen them.

It is to be noted that, in addition to the increased contact area afforded by the multiple studs e, which are forced into and engage the walls and bottoms of the holes b with heavy pressure and over a large area of surface contact, the location of the holes in the side of the rail head a greatly simplifies the operation of drilling the rail for tne reception of the bond, and renders the operation of installing the bond both easy and expeditious, even with unskilled labor, and, furthermore, the fact that the holes may be located quite close to the ends of the rail sections, enables a much shorter conductor j' to be employed, which may be given any desired capacity. It is also to be noted, that the connection between the bond and the rail is exposed and above the upper edge of the joint plate, thereby avoiding an excessive length of connector, and the necessity of disturbing the rail joint while installing the bond.

A leading and most important advantage of this form of bond is that it can readily be made up in short and. flexible bonds having very large capacities, and further, in case of any slight inaccuracy in the spacing of the holes in the rail head, for the reception of the studs, such inaccuracy may be remedied by bending the arms of the terminals as may be necessary and thereby the studs may be readily adjusted so as to register properly with the holes into which they are .to be inserted.

Another im ortant advantage of this form of bond ies in the fact that it has several entirely independent connections to the rail, therefore being vless liable to cause an open joint and having all the advantages of as many single bonds as there are studs on each terminal.

It will be observed that a bond, constructed in accordance with this invention, presents two or more terminal studs at each end, which are held under great pressure in cup-shaped holes in the side of the rail head adjacent to the end thereof, by forcing the metal of the bosses d into the body of the head c and driving a corresponding quantity of metal from the head into the studs e, which affords a large conductive capacity at the joints thus formed; and also enables large conductors f to be employed, thereby reducing the resistance in this element of the bond and affecting a large saving in copper. The location of the holes in the sides ofthe rail heads enables the drilling to be effected expeditiously, and their cup-shaped form affords a means of practically sealing the contact surface from moisture, thus preventing oxidation of these surfaces. Bonds of this character may be effectively employed as substitutes for the well-known old form of soldered or brazed bonds which are attached to the ball of the rails, with less cost of installation, and with an increase in the efficiency of the joint. l

While a hammer or compressor has been described for upsetting the bosses or rojections on the outer face of the terminal head and for driving the studs into intimate contact with the sides and bottom of the cup-shaped holes in the rail heads, it is to be understood that the invention is not dependent for its successful application upon' the employment of either a hammer or compressor, but that any special tool for the upstting and driving operations may be use In Figs. 6', 7, 8 and 9, I have shown my preferred forms of terminal ends without the liexible conductor connected thereto. Such terminal ends without the connecting conductor will be found of especial advantage for use in cross bonding or 1n any other kind of bonding where conductors are required of unusual length, such, for instance, as represented in Fig. 10, wherea surface rail is shown bonded to a sub-surface equalizing rail k by a connection lc. To meet such uses a copper cable of the required length is selected by the operator or cut by him to the length desired, and the respective ends thereof inserted into the respective holes of the terminal ends by solderlng or sweating in or other convenient connecting means.

While I have shown two, three and four terminal studs on the respective terminals represented in the drawings, yet this number may if desired be increased in order to give the necessary contact between the bond and the rail. In Fig. 5 I have shown a modified form of such .rail bond, wherein each terminal c2 consists of a plurality of separate metal stud-bearing branchesvvhich has the same advantages, and the application of which is made to the conductor rail in the same manner as'the form of rail bond above described. As will be seen, /the iiexible conducting means not only connects the terminals to each other but also connects the stud-bearing branches composing each terminal. This construction also permits the studs c2 to 'be ad'usted as t0 position. In Fi s. 11 and 12, JI have shown the bond applie to a feeder rail a', which is earried in, a housing a2. In this case, the ter- 5 minals are shown as applied to the base portion of the rail. In either form of bond the shape of the terminal studs or the shape of the holes in the rail may be as described or be threaded or enlarged at the bottom or 10 roughed in addition to the forcing in of the terminal studs by means of pressure or by "hammering, for anchoring purposes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat ent S Z- )5 A rail bond having at the ends terminals, each terminal comprising a plurality of solid metal stud-bearing branches adjustable, towards and away from each otherv In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set g@ 'my hand.

oHAs. R. sTURDEvAN'r.

vWitnesses:

CHAs. F. GARLAND, WM. A. BACON. 

